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Investigators arrested two men charged with the home invasion robbery of a Louisburg businessman.
Police were called out during the early morning hours of June 13 after Kevin Fuller reported that two people broke into his house and robbed him at gunpoint.
Fuller operates an all-terrain vehicle shop in town.
There were no injuries reported in the break in, according to the initial report by Officer G.W. Stanley, but Fuller reported that more than $1,500 in computer equipment and other merchandise was stolen from his Allen Lane home.

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved a $63.6 million county spending plan on Thursday that includes a five-cents tax increase.
By a five-two vote, the board agreed to raise the tax rate from 82.25 cents per $100 of valuation to 87.25 cents per $100 of valuation.
Commissioners Harry Foy and Bob Winters opposed the spending plan.
As a financial example, someone with $200,000 worth of property would pay $100 extra during the 2009-10 fiscal year.

FRANKLINTON — The Franklin County Volunteers in Medicine flung open the doors to its new thrift shop on Thursday, hoping the venture fuels and broadens its efforts to care for the county’s underserved.
The organization opened its clinic in Louisburg in 2004 with the goal of serving the rising number of uninsured and underinsured residents in Franklin County.
To operate, organizers have relied on grants and the kindness of donors.
But with the opening of its thrift store, Encore! Encore! in Franklinton on Thursday, organizers hope they have hit on a continuing source of revenue to help them serve the community.

Franklin County is coping with its first two cases of the H1N1 virus this week.
Interim Health Director Jim Jones said they won’t be the last.
H1N1, first referred to as the swine flu, is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by a new strain of the influenza virus.
“These cases are only the tip of the iceberg,” Jones said. “It’s highly spreadable.
“Universal precautions should be taken.”

Franklin County commissioners appointed a new tax administrator on Thursday night, drawing from inside experience.
Jimmy Tanner will be able to remove the assistant and interim from his label on July 1 as he takes over as the county’s tax administrator.
“I thank the board for their support and confidence,” said Tanner, who has been an assistant in the office for more than seven years and has nearly 30 years experience in the tax office.
Tanner has been the interim tax administrator since Jim Wrenn decided to leave the office in January to become the top tax man in Nash County.

Nash Community College Humanities instructor Marbeth Holmes of Louisburg has been invited to present at the Oxford Round Table in July at Harris Manchester College in Oxford, England.
The focus of the 20th Annual Oxford Round Table is The Idea of Education in Nineteenth-Century Women’s Writing. Holmes will present her paper, “Circumcision of the Female Intellect: 19th Century American Women Who Opposed Scholarly Education.”

OPINIONS/EDITORIALS

No one likes taxes ... and that’s especially true of property taxes.
Thus, the decision Thursday night by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, while no surprise to anyone paying attention to North Carolina politics in recent months, is not exactly an excuse to celebrate.
That said, it’s also not a reason to rant, rave and toss around expletives, either.

Ban the bullies.
Protect the potties.
Terminate the texters.
Can you tell the great North Carolina legislative season is winding down?
It’s when all those unusual bills, which have been stashed away in committee, suddenly emerge into the light of day -- and some actually become law.
All kidding aside -- and these three are ripe for late-night jokes -- these are three pretty good pieces of legislation, although all might have been improved with a good helping of backbone.

GOOD MORNING: Ditto that suggestion in the N&O Thursday that maybe Gov. Beverly (Whiney) Perdue should consider joining South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in Argentina.
Recent polls show Gov. Perdue’s approval rating well below 50 percent after announcing her support for $1.5 billion in new taxes to meet the state’s budget shortfall, to say nothing about her use of costly state jet aircraft to crisscross the state in support of her proposed tax increase.

RALEIGH – As Congress and the Obama administration continue to fashion a federal government takeover of the American medical system, it’s worth remembering that not all trends in health care are negative.
Indeed, some of the “problems” are really the inevitable result of prior “solutions.” For example, health care represents a much larger share of total spending than it did a generation ago, in part because so many medical goods and services are truly worth more than they used to be – they alleviate more suffering, remedy more conditions, and save more lives. That’s not to say that money isn’t wasted on high-cost, low-return care. It’s simply to say that the challenge of affordability exists largely because health care has gotten more valuable over time.

Dear Editor:
If you have not been out to a kickball game at the Moose Lodge, you have missed some excitement. I was privileged to attend my first adult kickball game on Tuesday, June 23, between Walnut Grove and the Playground Bullies, and I must say, this is not your childhood kickball.
I had strong doubts when I first heard that Oliver Greene and the Franklin County Recreation Department were doing “kickball.” Now, please don’t get me wrong. Mr. Greene does the best program, in my opinion, and I have seen some recreation programs, as my daughter plays travel ball, but come on, kickball!

KITTRELL - Funeral services for Isaiah Sneed, 89, who died Thursday, June 25, 2009, will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, at Concord Missionary Baptist Church, with the Rev. S. E. Blalock officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

OXFORD — The Louisburg All-Stars came up just short of a shot at state play in the Dixie Youth Baseball District 10 Coach-Pitch All-Star Tournament at Webb High School on Tuesday night.
The squad fell 8-1 to an Oxford team that had home-field advantage and lively hitting that broke open a tight game.
“I think they did a great job,” said Coach Will Murphy. “We’re a young team.
“We have a lot of kids that had never been on this stage,” Murphy said. “This was the first tournament some of these kids had ever been in.

FUTURE VANGUARD. Trentin Cozart of Oxford Webb, seated in center, signs a letter-of-intent to play basketball at Vance-Granville Community College, as his father (seated, left), Willie Cozart, looks on.

HENDERSON -- The 2009-2010 Vance-Granville Community College men’s basketball team is starting to shape up after several promising high school hoops players -- some from the area and some from other states -- signed national letters of intent to join the Vanguards.
VGCC head men’s basketball coach Avery Wilson, a Louisburg resident, has announced that point guard Joshua Coles of Danville, Va.; shooting guard/point guard Trentin Cozart of Oxford; shooting guard Allen Hogue of Raleigh; wing guard/forward Ryan Belton of Columbia, S.C.; guard Sam Hilton of Charleston, S.C. and forward/center Damonte Harris of Durham have all committed to play for the Vanguards next season.

With the Coach-Pitch District Tournament now completed (see Carey Johnson’s excellent coverage at right), it’s now time for the Minor Leagues and the Softballers to take center stage in the Dixie Youth Summer All-Stars circuit.
The annual D-Y District 10 Minor League event began Friday night at the Louisburg High School Softball Field. The double-elimination event will run through either this coming Wednesday or Thursday.
The six-team tourney features defending champion Bunn, host Louisburg and Franklinton, Youngsville, Oxford and Warren County.

ZEBULON -- The Carolina Mudcats (1-3) fell 4-2 in 10 innings to the Jacksonville Suns (3-1) Thursday night at Five County Stadium in a Class AA Southern League baseball showdown.
Lefty Tom Cochran gave the Mudcats a quality start, throwing 7.1 innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out four Suns.
Sean Watson (L, 1-3) allowed two earned runs in 2.1 innings in relief of Cochran.
Jacksonville scored all four of its runs on three home runs, including two from 3B Lee Mitchell.

The Louisburg All-Stars Coach Pitch team show off the hardware they took home following the District 10 tournament championship game at Oxford Webb High School on Tuesday. Louisburg finished in second place. Team members, in no particular order, are: Cam Murphy, Jaquan Taylor, Justin Weathers, Dylan Musselman, Xavier Clifton, Tripp Harris, Dalton Dudding, Cale Bolton, Micah Dorsey, Riggan Faulkner, Larry Williams, Robert Sherrill and Ryan Ward. The coaches are Will Murphy, Bill Bolton, Troy Musselman and Matt Dorsey.

LIFESTYLES

Mr. and Mrs. Gary C. Faulkner of Youngsville announce the engagement of their daughter, Carla Jo, to Jonathan Sands, son of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Sands of Pittsboro. A Nov. 7, 2009 wedding is planned in Carthage.

SCHOOLS/EDUCATION

Jewel Eason, principal of Bunn Elementary School, announces the Honor Roll for the third and fourth nine-weeks grading period.
To be named to the A Honor Roll, a student must make no grade lower than 93. To be named to the A/B Honor Roll, a student must make no grade lower than 85.

COMMUNITY NEWS

In an unusual move Thursday night, the Franklin County board of education unanimously voted to recommend the third-lowest bidder on the new 214,277 square foot Franklinton High School project, D. A Thomas Construction Co., Inc.
Thomas’s total bid was $25,397,645 including all applicable alternates and was less than 1 percent higher than the bid submitted by the apparent low bidder, John S. Clark Co., LLC.
Clark’s bid, including the same alternates, was $25,183,200 or $214,445 lower than the bid from D.A. Thomas.

So many people in today’s economic times are finding it harder and harder to keep up with expenses from day to day, much less able to give attention to needed projects around the home.
This year’s United Way Day of Caring can bring some relief to those people. As part of the 2009 fall campaign and in recognition, in part, of the organization’s 15th anniversary in Franklin County, the local United Way Day of Caring Committee is now accepting applications for projects to be completed Sept. 12.